There may be a glimmer of hope for the housing market as in November, for the third month in a row, there appears to have been a rise in buyer demand. This is according to a survey carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), who also reported a rise in sales amongst their members.

RICS housing spokesman, Alan Collett, said: ‘It is encouraging that buyer interest has edged upwards in the face of the endless diet of negative news from Europe and the turmoil in financial markets. However, a meaningful recovery still seems some way off.’

The November housing market survey found that most surveyors felt that the housing market was still being held back due to economic uncertainty, followed by lack of mortgage finance and fear of falling house prices.